In 1805, Solomon Evans, of Sussex County, declared in his will that following the death of his wife Agness, then in her eighties, his slave Purnell should be free. He appointed his son, Solomon Evans the younger, as executor. In 1808, the father died, and the son, according to Purnell, attempted to deceive him by telling him that he and his brother Abraham were slaves for life. The son then offered him a proposition. If Purnell would purchase his own time for a few years, Solomon would approach the other heirs and seek to obtain a deed of manumission. Ignorant of the provision in the will, and "desirous of the enjoyment of Freedom," Purnell promised to pay Solomon two hundred dollars in several annual installments. In 1809, Agness died, and now, Purnell, learning of the provisions in the will, sues for his freedom.
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Repository: Delaware State Archives, Dover, Delaware
